->''"So any belief that Nintendo will make a sequel to VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink is deader than shit. They can't even make them follow consecutive order! We have a sequel to the original, a prequel to the original, a ''sequel'' to the prequel, a '''prequel''' to the prequel, and a sequel to the young Link of the prequel's prequel! [-WHAT THE FUCK!?-]"''-->-- '''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd''' on ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''

Some video games do not have a strict sense of a linear {{sequel}}. The game may -- ''may'' -- take place in the same continuity, but not necessarily in the same time period. Occasionally the only thing similar is the system of play or shared tropes and references.

This is because video games, uniquely among media, have another dimension by which installments in a series can be interrelated, other than characters, [[TheVerse setting]], plot, or tone; that dimension being gameplay mechanics. Of course, this also means you might get an installment that [[DolledUpInstallment isn't really one at all]]. Plus, it has the benefit of helping to avoid ContinuityLockOut--with non-linear sequels, it doesn't really matter if you start with, say, An RPG Adventure 1 or An RPG Adventure 10.

This also avoids having to explain [[BagOfSpilling why the hero isn't at Level 255+ and where all his cool stuff went]] when he starts the next game.

Many series of this sort have {{Recurring Element}}s.

Compare and contrast to a ThematicSeries, which is a series that follows themes as opposed to specific characters or settings.----!!Examples:

[[AC:Action-Adventure Games]]* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is the biggest example of this in video games, as fans attempted for years to find some coherent continuity between the games, with one of the bigger points of contention being whether there was a linear timeline or if the ending of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' actually split the timeline in two. When the official timeline was revealed for the series' 25th anniversary through the ''[[AllThereInTheManual Hyrule Historia]]'', it turned out timeline did split in [=OOT=]... ''into three branches''.[[note]]The Adult Timeline (where adult Link went back in time to properly live his childhood, leaving this branch unable to have a "true" reincarnation of the hero; this leads to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]''), the Child Timeline (where young Link and Zelda manage to have Ganondorf imprisoned before he can enter the Temple of Time; this leads to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures Four Swords Adventures]]''), and the unexpected Fallen Hero/Downfall Timeline (where adult Link dies fighting a now bestial Ganon; this leads to ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Seasons/Ages]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]'', [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the original game]], and ''VideoGame/{{Zelda II|TheAdventureOfLink}}'').[[/note]] Since Creator/{{Nintendo}} is very much a "gameplay-first" developer, with story being one of the last things tackled in any of their games, the timeline reveal was prefaced with a request for fans to [[MST3KMantra ignore any odd discrepancies]] the official order may cause as being a result of the games being "legends" that have been constantly retold and embellished.[[note]]Even now, Nintendo often refrains from revealing where the newest game falls on the timeline until several months after release.[[/note]]* The ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' series plays around with the TimeyWimeyBall and as a result only the first two, ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'', are in normal order. ''Soul Reaver 2'' picked up where ''Soul Reaver'' left off with the main characters travelling back in time to a couple decades before ''Blood Omen'', then they travel forward to several centuries after ''Blood Omen'', then back to centuries before ''Blood Omen''. The fourth game, ''Blood Omen 2'', takes place between ''Blood Omen'' and ''Soul Reaver'' in an altered timeline caused by the fifth game, ''Defiance'' (unless it's the original and Defiance erased it; there's evidence to support either). Defiance picks up right where ''Soul Reaver 2'' left off and switches between the two heroes who are in different time periods, one is still in the time period centuries before ''Blood Omen'' and the other is exactly in the same time frame as ''Blood Omen'', the events of that game occurring unseen at the same time as the events of ''Defiance''. If you followed all that, congratulations, you just mastered one of the most complex time travel plots ever known.* ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' and ''VideoGame/{{ICO}}'' [[SharedUniverse take place within the same universe]], with ''Shadow of the Colossus'' occurring earlier in the timeline.* ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble'' makes ''no'' sense. You got '''''three''''' second-installments and '''''two''''' third-installments, and chronological orders and release orders don't match.* The sequel progression in ''Franchise/TombRaider'' is linear (while each is self-contained, stuff like artifacts in Lara's mansion show the progression) until ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderChronicles Chronicles]]'', which is based around events at various times in Lara's life, and the position of some scenarios in the overall timeline is very hard to work out (not helped by the way some events seem to violate previous canon). The [[VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend Crystal reboot]] makes things much more complicated; while the changes to backstory and canon suggest a ContinuityReboot, the majority of the previous games are referenced at points in the new games, suggesting that they DO still exist in the new timeline, which makes it difficult to work out where ''Legend'' and ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld Underworld]]'' fit in. The series would then be rebooted again with ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'', and there are also two spin-offs that have their own continuity, ''VideoGame/LaraCroftAndTheGuardianOfLight'' and ''Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris''.* The third ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' game for the NES, ''Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom'', is an interquel between the original NES ''Ninja Gaiden'' and ''Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos'' (since Ryu lost the Dragon Sword at the end of ''II'', but still has it in ''III''). ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'' is a very distant prequel to the first NES game, while ''Ninja Gaiden'' for Xbox and its sequels (''Dragon Sword'' and ''2'') are set before the NES series (and presumably after ''Ninja Gaiden Shadow'').* The ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series isn't a particularly confusing chronology, especially compared to its sister series ''The Legend of Zelda''. Nevertheless, the release order of the subsequent games still doesn't necessarily match the order in which they take place, mainly due to the ''Prime'' sub-series being an expanded {{Interquel}}. The order is: ''VideoGame/{{Metroid|1}}[=/=]VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'' (1986[=/=]2004) > ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' (2002) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters Prime Hunters]]'' (2006) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes Prime 2: Echoes]]'' (2004) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption Prime 3: Corruption]]'' (2007) > ''[[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce Federation Force]]'' (2016) > ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' (1991) > ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' (1994) > ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' (2010) > ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' (2004).[[note]]''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'' is a loose retelling of the first ''Prime'' game.[[/note]]* The games in Creator/{{Falcom}}'s ''VideoGame/DragonSlayer'' series are largely unrelated to each other. While ''Dragon Slayer VIII: The Legend of Xanadu'' is a sequel to ''VideoGame/DragonSlayerIIXanadu'', and ''Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian'' has tenuous connections to ''Dragon Slayer Jr.: Romancia'', it's perhaps just as well that "Dragon Slayer" was stripped out of the titles of most of the localized versions and the later sequels and remakes.

[[AC:Adventure Games]]* The games in the ''[[VideoGame/AtlantisTheLostTales Atlantis]]'' series take part, in order: In prehistoric times, in the middle ages, in 2020, in the eary 20th century, and in 1937.* ''Mysterious Journey II'' is a far, far cry from what ''VideoGame/SchizmMysteriousJourney'' was. It takes place on an entirely different planet called Saarpedon, bearing no relation to Argilus, and the 2-character playing mode is dumbed back to one. In fact, the only relation to Schizm is a ShoutOut to its living ships, as buildings in the ocean which look similar on the outside, but work and look nothing alike on the inside.

[[AC:Fighting Games]]* Every 2D ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' has been a non-linear sequel since ''Samurai Shodown II''. ''III'' and ''IV'' are set after the original game but before ''II'', ''V'' is a prequel to the first game, and ''VI'' is a "{{dream match|Game}}" game with everyone from the previous numbered entries. Oddly enough, the 3D games are all set after ''Samurai Shodown II'', although the PS version of ''Warriors Rage'' (which is a different game from the arcade version) takes place in the distant future of the other games.* The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' series (despite its Japanese title of ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'') is actually set '''after''' the original ''VideoGame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'' (and ''VideoGame/FinalFight'') and before the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' series. ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is an {{interquel}} between ''II'' and ''III'', while the latest entry, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', takes place between ''IV'' and ''III''. The ''VideoGame/StreetFighterEX'' [[GaidenGame titles]] are a [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]] series of spin-offs [[WildMassGuessing believed]] to occupy the same general time frame of ''Alpha'' and ''II''.

[[AC:First-Person Shooter]]* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' franchise chronologically goes: ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''[=/=]''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', ''VideoGame/HaloSpartanAssault'', ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', ''VideoGame/HaloSpartanStrike'', ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', ''VideoGame/HaloWars2''. The core trilogy was released first, followed by ''Halo Wars'', ''Halo 3: ODST'', ''Halo: Reach'', ''Halo 4'' (the start of a new trilogy), ''Halo: Spartan Assault'', ''Halo: Spartan Strike'', ''Halo 5: Guardians'', and ''Halo Wars 2''.* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games, due to starting out as yet another UsefulNotes/WorldWarII series, have chronology all over the place. ''Call of Duty 2'' in particular has at least half of its missions taking place before most of the original's -- though this also meant they could bring back Captain Price after his death on board the Tirpitz in the first game without having to explain a thing. Later games eventually split up the timeline into as many as ''five'' alternate timelines: the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' timeline with ''[[VideoGame/CallofDutyInfiniteWarfare Infinite Warfare]]'' being a distant sequel, the ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' timeline that also includes ''[[VideoGame/CallofDutyWorldAtWar World at War]]'', the standalone timelines of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts Ghosts]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare Advanced Warfare]]'', the ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies Zombies]]'' timeline, and the WWII games that can go anywhere. The series could almost be seen as a ThematicSeries at this point.

[[AC:Hack and Slash]]* In chronological order of the plotline, the ''Franchise/DevilMayCry'' series goes as follows: ''Devil May Cry 3'', ''Devil May Cry'', ''Devil May Cry 4'', then ''Devil May Cry 2''. Then there's ''[[VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry DmC: Devil May Cry]]'', which was originally ''another'' prequel (more like ContinuityReboot in some aspects) set ''before'' ''3'' [[FlipFlopOfGod and is now set in]] [[AlternateContinuity a parallel universe]].

[[AC:Platformers]]* The ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' series is the reigning king of bouncing around in the timeline, though the games all take place in the same continuity. Games have been set as far back as the year 1094 and as far forward as 2036. Konami didn't even wait till the series left the NES before starting this habit -- ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIIIDraculasCurse'' was set more than 200 years before the first game.** There are five games that retell Simon Belmont's assault on Dracula's Castle in 1691, with only ''Castlvania II'' serving as a continuation of Simon's journey.* Though the various ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' games are released roughly in chronological order within their own series, the ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series -- which takes place after the end of the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX X]]'' series and before the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Legends]]'' series -- began and ended years after the last ''Legends'' game came out. The newer ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' series takes place after ''Zero'' but still before ''Legends''.* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':** ''Sonic'' fans have had more than a few arguments trying to sort this one out. Though there are some things that are commonly agreed upon.** ''VideoGame/SonicCD'' was developed at the same time as ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'', and takes place either before it or after ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic & Knuckles]]''.** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog4'' takes place shortly after ''Sonic & Knuckles'' despite coming out in 2010. Furthermore, Episode II happens after ''Sonic CD'', owing to Metal Sonic returning from his defeat on Little Planet.** The ResetButton ending of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' and inclusion in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' already make its place in continuity somewhat confusing. However, the game says that Blaze the Cat is from the same future as Silver the Hedgehog. The ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' series directly contradict this by saying that Blaze is from AnotherDimension. At the end of Silver's story in ''Sonic 06'' [[spoiler: Blaze absorbs Iblis and seals it and herself away disappearing in a flash of light]]. Which [[WildMassGuessing may suggest]] ''Rush'' takes place after ''Sonic 06'', had WordOfGod not reaffirmed that her ''Rush'' backstory is the correct one. ** ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' takes place "[[TimeSkip two years]] after the last game in the series". However, what is meant by that is unknown. Its ending [[spoiler: has Robotnik take over the world]]. This doesn't sit well with the next game in the series, ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''. [[CanonDiscontinuity The game was eventually declared non-canon anyway]], which is backed by Tails not remembering Green Hill in ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations''.** In ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'', Shadow clearly remembers the events of ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' though the game was released slightly before ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'', in which Shadow has amnesia thanks to his fall at the end of ''[=SA2=]''. He doesn't get his memory back until the end of ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', so ''Battle'' is likely set some time after ''Shadow The Hedgehog''.* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':** ''[[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Super Mario World 2 Yoshis Island]]'', although numbered, is a prequel to the main ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games instead of a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''. In Japan, the game is known simply as ''Super Mario: Yoshi Island''.** ''VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3'': the [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand two]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins previous]] games feature Mario as the main character but you play as Wario in this one. [[spoiler:Mario doesn't appear in the third game until the very end.]]* ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIIMonsterLair'' and ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap''. The former is a ShootEmUp platformer hybrid spin-off, while the latter is an Action RPG set immediately after ''VideoGame/WonderBoyInMonsterLand''; with the prologue taking place in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of that game.* ''VideoGame/MonsterWorldIV'' has mostly the same gameplay as the previous ''Wonder Boy'' / ''Monster World'' titles, but a completely unrelated story.

[[AC:Role-Playing Games]]* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, with a few exceptions centered around ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', essentially reboot everything with every new game and start fresh in a different setting with different characters, making its use of [[NumberedSequels numbers]] somewhat strange.** Creator/SquareEnix's [[Franchise/IvaliceAlliance Ivalice realm]] is a consistent world visited by the player at various different points in history, each time centered on completely unrelated protagonists. The titles are non-linear, consisting of the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' games, ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII''. But even Ivalice's continuity is a little haphazard. Back when they were new, the only indication of a connection between ''Tactics'' and ''Vagrant Story'' was a few small references. ''Tactics'' would receive its own sequel later on, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'', which also had ''very'' little to do with its predecessor. Making Ivalice a more explicitly consistent setting was a later development, and [[ContinuityDrift it's still a bit different than it started out]] since it took some {{retcon}}ning to fit things together.** Only afterwards, some games are now getting sequels, probably inspired by the success of the ''Compilation of VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. For example, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has a cellphone[=/=]UsefulNotes/WiiWare game sequel, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears''.** As of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', the entire series takes place in a larger [[TheMultiverse Multiverse]], as did ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2''. The [[AllThereInTheManual Ultimania]] notes that [[spoiler:Shinra, the kid genius of the Gullwings, was the ancestor of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Rufus Shinra]]. He even babbles about a concept remarkably similar to that of TheLifestream at one point in the game.]]** A Japanese guide for ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (''[[AllThereInTheManual Final Fantasy IV Settei Shiryou Hen]]'', [[http://www.sceneryrecalled.com/trans/ff4comp.htm for those curious]]) states that the Blue Planet is the same world as that of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'', only 100 years later. It also states that the Deathbringer that King Fabul gives to Cecil was left to him by Leon from ''II'', who then renounced his status as a Dark Knight to become a priest (as a parallel to Cecil's own class change from Dark Knight to Paladin). However, this is possibly shot down ''[[ShrugOfGod again]]'' in ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears The After Years]]'', which reverts the whole "Kain being Ricard's son" thing back to a RetroactiveLegacy MythologyGag; there, Kain says that he was roughly the same age as Ceodore (17) when he heard news [[spoiler:of his father's death against an evil empire]], while the Kain seen in ''II'' is a young boy (not to mention that a difference of 100 years makes it difficult for the 21-year-old Kain to be the son of the already middle-aged Ricard).** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' was the first game in the series to be envisioned with other games (''VideoGame/FinalFantasyType0'' for example) sharing a continuity in mind, although from the get-go that "continuity" was outlined as a theme involving crystals steeped in mythology and nothing else, for the most part. While it eventually gained direct sequels, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'' and ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'', the original vision changed quite a lot over the years, with ''Type-0'', originally sharing the XIII title as ''Agito XIII'', renamed before its release, and with the third game--the very well-anticipated ''Versus XIII''--announced way back in 2006 along with the other two changing into a large, separate verse so much that it's finally been renamed '''''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'''''. The end of the E3 trailer that announced this even implies that, as "a world in the Versus epic" (quote), Noctis will have his own saga in ''Franchise/{{Fabula Nova Crystallis|FinalFantasy}}'' (its title can be faintly seen at the beginning of the trailer), as Lightning has had.* There are only two continuities in the ''VideoGame/{{Tales|Series}}'' series, non-canonical {{crossover}}s ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheWorld'' notwithstanding. The first is the "Aselia" timeline, encompassing two ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'' games and ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]''. All of them have different protagonists (the ''Symphonia'' sequel has a different protagonist, and both are set around 4000 years before ''Phantasia''). The second is the ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Destiny]]'' timeline, the second game being about the son of the heroes of the first. In all cases, no BagOfSpilling is invoked.* Due to an unusual twist of plot [[spoiler:involving Lezard time traveling from the end of the first game to the past of the sequel]], ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria]]'' comes both before and after ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile''. And ''[[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume Covenant of the Plume]]'' is a prequel. ** Things become even more confusing during the Seraphic Gate portions of ''Covenant of the Plume'' (i.e. the post-game), where [[spoiler:recurring character Arngrim shows up. That Arngrim is the one from the ''original, unaltered'' version of the ''[=VP2=]'' timeline (the one that leads into ''Covenant of the Plume'' and ''Lenneth''), where the time-traveling Lezard wasn't there to bail Alicia, Rufus, and Dylan out of Dipan Castle and thus change the sequence of history. Like in ''[=VP2=]'', [[InSpiteOfANail Arngrim still ended up as one of Hrist's Einherjar]], but was sent back into the cycle of rebirth as punishment for calling out Odin about what he did to Alicia, thus explaining how he can appear in the original ''Valkyrie Profile'' when it's (chronologically) set hundreds of years after ''Silmeria''.]]* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFire'' has a remarkably similar situation going to ''Zelda'', only complicated by two, possibly three, ''canonical'' AlternateUniverse scenarios:** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'', ''[[VideoGame/BreathOfFireII II]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII III]]'' are canonically (per [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]] and storyline) in the same universe but separated by millennia between games.** ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'' is (per [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]]) in its own AlternateUniverse completely unrelated to other games in the series. The gameplay is also radically different, to the point it actually resulted in a BrokenBase within that fandom.** The real mess comes in sorting out where ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'' fits, because there ''is'' no [[WordOfGod Word of Capcom]] where the game fits, the game was rushed to production to outrun AuthorExistenceFailure, and subsequent [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material]] (like the artbook, a {{Novelization}}, a second ''Breath of Fire'' Complete Works artbook, no less than two side-stories that were released for [[NoExportForYou Japanese smartphones]], and finally a [[ComicBookAdaptation manga]] that relied ''heavily'' on info from the artbook and Capcom's production staff) have done ''absolutely nothing'' to clarify this. As a result, a ''lot'' of {{Fanon}} and occasional FanWank occurs as to whether ''IV'' is an AlternateUniverse or a NonLinearSequel (with the most popular {{Fanon}} Timeline going towards it being a NonLinearSequel that is a prequel to ''I-III'').* The first two ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' games were placed in reverse order, with ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' happening before ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. The first game even ''started'' with ATasteOfPower that eventually became the final conflict in the second game, creating a nice little loop of continuity. The third game, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheLegendReturns'', is third chronologically, 100 years after ''Fortress of Doom'' and 200 years after ''Lufia II''. The GaidenGame, ''VideoGame/LufiaTheRuinsOfLore'', is set twenty years after ''Lufia II'' (eighty years before ''Fortress of Doom'').* The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' games all take place in the same world (except for ''[[VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis Tierkreis]]''), but all take place in different regions and, more importantly, different times. To be specific, the first game to occur chronologically was ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''. One hundred and fifty years later, we experience the events of ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', then we get the original ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'' five years later, with ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'' following it up with the shortest time span between games (a mere three years), then we get ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'' 15 years after that. One strange thing about this series is the character Viki, who is well-known for not only teleporting to different regions, but through time as well (though this is not intentional, as she just has very bad luck and is a huge klutz). What's interesting is that she teleports through the games in ''numerical'' order, rather than chronologically. In other words, she teleports from the events of ''Suikoden I'' to ''Suikoden II'', then to ''Suikoden III'', and so on. Also, there are events that occur in ''Suikogaiden'' with Viki that, if she moved in numerical order, would imply her having knowledge of events that occurred (or knowing people she met) in earlier games. Her lack of knowledge of who Lorelai is in ''Suikoden V'', even though they are both members of the Hero's army in ''I'' and ''II'', is telling. ''And'' there are two different versions of Viki in ''III''.* The ''Franchise/WildArms'' games were assumed to be non-linear at first, but WordOfGod says that they all take place on the same planet. This doesn't make much sense because, if that's the case, the games take place at least multiple millennia apart with FridgeLogic mass-reconfiguration of the planet's continental crust fragments. But hey, if the planet's center is filled with supernatural blue mud, you can HandWave just about anything.* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series all take place in the same world and are roughly chronological, but have different locations and, for the most part, characters. Except for the spin-offs. ''Battlespire'' takes place just before and during [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena the first game]], while ''Redguard'' takes place roughly 300 years before the first game. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' takes place two centuries after ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'', but is more of a direct sequel events-wise.* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': Several titles take place in the same universe with similar past events. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' is the prequel of [[VideoGame/DragonQuestI the first]] [[VideoGame/DragonQuestII two games]], which are collectively known as the "Loto Trilogy" or "Erdrick Trilogy" (depending on your translation).** The [[VideoGame/DragonQuestIV fourth]], [[VideoGame/DragonQuestV fifth]], and [[VideoGame/DragonQuestVI sixth]] games are also part of their own saga (the loosely-connected Zenithian trilogy), albeit in AnachronicOrder.** To date, only ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'', ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'', and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'' seem to be standalone titles, as ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' hints at a multiverse due to [[spoiler:the Godbird Empyrea actually being one in the same as [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Ramia/Lamia]] from ''III'']]. Torneko Taloon from ''IV'' also cameos as an opponent in Morrie's Monster Arena in ''VIII''. Just to complicate matters, ''IX'' features character cameos and cosplay gear from all eight previous games and the ''VideoGame/DragonQuestSwords'' spin-off, which may mean something or may just be {{Mythology Gag}}s. Then there's the early ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters'' games -- one's a prequel to ''VI'', another had a ''VII'' character wind up in the Erdrick Trilogy world long after the events of ''I - III''.* The continuity between the ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games is rather loose. At least one game, ''VideoGame/LegendOfMana'', has been declared non-canon by WordOfGod, and the mobile phone game ''Friends of Mana'' takes place in a totally different world.* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' does this. Not counting ''Gold and Silver'', which were direct sequels to the first games, ''Red and Blue'', every iteration since has been part of a jumbled up timeline that can only be explained by in-game functions. ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' start off the series. At the same time that these are happening, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', games released six years later as part of the third generation, take place. Three years later, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' take place. Starting around when the red Gyarados business goes down, the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' occur. (It helps if you consider the remakes; ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' are part of the same generation and take place at roughly the same time, as are ''Diamond and Pearl'' and ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]''.) And then, some unknown time later (possibly multiple years later; see the following note for more details) the events of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' take place, followed by ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' (2 years later [[note]]Red, the player character in ''R/B/Y/FR/LG'', is canonically 11 in his games, which would make him 14 during Gen II/IV; as his age is given as [[VagueAge 16-17+]] in ''[=B2/W2=]'', this would suggest that ''B/W'' is set only, at most, a year after the events of ''[=HG/SS=]'' and ''Platinum'', [[CuttingOffTheBranches which is implied to be the "canon" version by Cynthia]] in her ''B/W'' cameo[[/note]]). ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' then takes place around the same time as ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2''. ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' are a few years down the road from ''[=B2/W2=]'' and ''X/Y'', as Red (see the above note) is officially said to be [[VagueAge in his early twenties]]. [[note]]Concept art for Grimsley, a character appearing in both the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Unova]] [[VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2 titles]] and ''S/M'', mentions that he is two years older in the latter, however.[[/note]] ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness Pokémon XD]]'' go wherever you want them to. * [[WordOfGod Hidetaka Miyazaki]] (who served as director on ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dark Souls|I}}'') has stated that despite taking place in the same world, there will be no story connections between ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' and its predecessor.* Most of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' sequels are like this, the major exceptions being ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', ''[[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Digital Devil Saga 2]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon]]''. Some other games are hinted/confirmed to take place in the same continuity as their predecessors, such as ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', and ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} 4]]'', but feature completely different plotlines and characters, with only a handful of {{Call Back}}s connecting them.

[[AC:Shoot 'Em Ups]]* ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra 4]]'' was titled as such to indicate its placement as a sequel to ''Contra III: The Alien Wars''. It is actually the eleventh original installment in the series and the second one specifically made for a portable platform (following ''Operation C'' on the original UsefulNotes/GameBoy). The game got away with this due to the fact that none of the other ''Contra'' sequels between ''III'' and ''4'' were numbered (the actual game that followed ''Contra III'' was ''Contra: Hard Corps'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis).* The ''VideoGame/{{Aleste}}'' series kept a few main characters constant in its earlier installments, most of which could probably be linked together in order. Then there's ''Power Strike II'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem and ''Robo Aleste'' for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD, each of which is set in a different historical time period with different characters.

[[AC:Simulation Games]]* ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' had a few of these. ''Wing Commander II'' was set ten years after the end of the second [[ExpansionPack addon]], the Xbox Live game ''Wing Commander Armada'' was set 20 years after the events of ''Wing Commander Prophecy'', and ''VideoGame/Privateer2TheDarkening'' was... well, its own little world, for the most part, with subtle hints of a connection to the "main" games dropped throughout the game.* There's really only two linear sequels in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' series. ''X-Tension'', the ExpansionPack to ''X: Beyond the Frontier'', continues Kyle Brennan's story by having him found a corporation to help him develop a way to get back to Earth. Meanwhile ''X3: Reunion'' continues the story of the [[AlienInvasion Kha'ak invasion]] from ''X2: The Threat'': though the Kha'ak planet-killer has been destroyed, the invasion continues and ''X2''[='s=] player character Julian Gardna-Brennan has been hired to train new pilots to replace the Argon military's losses.* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' is all over the place, partially owing to [[ConstructedWorld the Strangereal setting]] not being [[{{Worldbuilding}} extensively fleshed out]] until the fourth game and Project Aces having to retroactively [[CanonWelding fit previous entries into the universe]]. Even so, [[AnachronicOrder the chronology can be hard]] [[SequelNumberSnarl to keep track of]] if you're not familiar with the series. ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar Zero]]'' [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning is the first entry]], and from there the order goes ''[[VideoGame/AirCombat 1]]'' (which takes place during an unknown point in 1995, the same year as the Belkan War) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat2 2]]'' (and its [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy Assault Horizon Legacy]]'', which take place around 1997 or 1998) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies 04]]'' (2004-2005) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar 5]]'' (2010) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat6FiresOfLiberation 6]]'' (2015) > ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatXSkiesOfDeception X]]'' (2020), with ''Xi'' as an {{interquel}} occupying the same general time period as ''X''. Meanwhile, ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatNorthernWings Northern Wings]]'' [[DashedPlotLine is running concurrently with]] ''04'', ''5'', and ''6''. This leaves ''[[VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere 3]]'', set in 2040, as the DistantFinale, with ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAdvance Advance]]'' (set around 2032) as ''its'' direct prequel. ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' was announced to be a sequel to ''[=AC6=]'', and is interestingly set in the same year as ''X''. That's not even getting into ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatJointAssault Joint Assault]]'', ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon Assault Horizon]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/AceCombatInfinity Infinity]]'', all of which are instead set on Earth and appear to serve as {{Alternate Continuit|y}}ies to one another. Additionally, the arcade version of ''Ace Combat'' (also titled ''Air Combat'') and its arcade-exclusive sequel (''Air Combat 22'') share their own continuity.

[[AC:Stealth-Based Games]]* All the numbered ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' sequels followed a linear chronology with one notable exception: ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'' serves as a prequel to the entire ''Metal Gear'' canon, being set decades before the events of the very first ''VideoGame/MetalGear1''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPortableOps'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', both for the PSP, serve as sequels to the plot of ''[=MGS3=]'' and follow Big Boss' further adventures before the first ''Metal Gear''. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' is another game starring Big Boss set years before ''Metal Gear Solid'', or even the original ''Metal Gear'' for that matter, but is the fifth game in the ''MGS'' series to be numbered. Strangely, it is the first one to use a roman numeral instead of a numerical digit. It's also been confirmed by Kojima that ''Peace Walker'' was to be called ''Metal Gear Solid 5'' at one point during development, but the number was removed mainly on the basis that the game was a handheld release.

[[AC:Survival Horror]]* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games release order mostly matches the chronology of the series, except for the prequel ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' and, weirdly, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'', which takes place [[{{Interquel}} both before and after]] ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2''. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', despite not having a numbered title, is the true continuation to the events of ''Resident Evil 2''.** The spin-offs are a bit looser with chronology -- the two ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilOutbreak Outbreak]]'' games take place roughly concurrently with the greater Raccoon City outbreak from ''2'' and ''3'', the final chapter of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' takes place a year before ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 4]]'', and the main story of ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles The Darkside Chronicles]]'' shows Leon in South America two years before ''4'', which shows what happened between Leon and [[spoiler:Krauser (before his FaceHeelTurn)]].** The 3DS game, ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'', is set before ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilOperationRaccoonCity'' takes place just before and during ''[=RE2=]''. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations2'' is set between ''[=RE5=]'' and ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6''.* ''VideoGame/{{Trapt}}'' was released in Japan as a sequel to ''VideoGame/{{Deception}} II: Kagero'', but is closer to a loose remake of ''Deception: Invitation to Darkness''.* ''VideoGame/DinoCrisis 3'' goes from the NextSundayAD setting of its predecessors into the distant future, complete with a new storyline that does not pick up where ''Dino Crisis 2'' left off. Considering how [[LeftHanging the second game ended on a very tense cliffhanger]] and Part 3 turned out to be a FranchiseKiller, [[FanonDiscontinuity fans of the first two games don't have a whole lot of nice things to say about it]].** Between the release of ''2'' and ''3'', there was also ''[[GaidenGame Dino Stalker]]'', a LightGunGame that, in fact, serves to tie together the those games, however nebulously ([[spoiler:the Mother Computer in charge of the Noah's Ark Plan, due to its ability to genetically engineer dinosaurs, is suggested to be the precursor to the MTHR computers featured in ''3'']]). In spite of this, the cliffhanger from the second game remains unaddressed even though [[spoiler:Dylan and Paula are shown to have survived]].

[[AC:Third-Person Shooter]]* ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' was released in 2002 and follows Jack Slate, a cop in Grant City. ''Dead to Rights 2'' was released in 2005, and despite it being a numbered actually takes place before the original game. A third game ''Dead to Rights: Reckoning'' was released for the PSP shortly after ''2''. It also precedes ''2''. And then the fourth game, ''Retribution'', is a re-imagining of the first game. So, four "sequels" and we haven't even got past the first storyline. Whoopie...* The ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' series is a great example of this. Each successive game takes place several years, sometimes even decades after previous one and casts the player in the role of a new {{AFGNCAAP}} with no connection to the previous one. Usually [[CapcomSequelStagnation the presence of a number in the title indicates]] a ContinuityReboot. So far, ''Armored Core'', ''Project Phantasma'', ''Master of Arena'', ''Armored Core 2'' and ''Another Age'' take place in one continuity. ''Armored Core 3'', ''Silent Line'', ''Nexus'', ''[[FanonDiscontinuity Nine Breaker]]'', and ''Last Raven'' take place in a second continuity. ''Armored Core 4'' and ''for Answer'' take place in a third. And ''Armored Core V'' takes place in a fourth continuity. There's also the GaidenGame ''Formula Front'', which uses elements from the ''Armored Core 3'' universe, but it clearly not set in it. It's really just a FightingGame [[HumongousMecha with Robots]]... [[VideoGame/VirtualOn No, not that one]].

[[AC:Turn-Based Strategy]]* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series has five different [[TheVerse Verses]], each with their own characters, settings, mythologies, and plots. The MacGuffin in each universe is almost always the titular Fire Emblem, although it's called something completely different except for one line thrown in about how some people (who you'll never meet) call it the Fire Emblem. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'' [[CanonWelding seems to tie everything together]]. The game definitely takes in the same universe as the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Archanea]] games, but several thousand years later. From this we can assume that the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Jugdral]] games are also in the same universe due to WordOfGod. One downloadable character is a descendant of Ike from the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Tellius]] games, and the DLC confirms that the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe remaining]] [[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones two]] verses exist at least as legends within ''Awakening''[='s=] world, if not explicit history that just hasn't been placed yet. [[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates The next installment]] similarly has a DLC chapter where the Avatar of that game meets the original traveling party in ''Awakening'' of Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick shortly before they encounter their game's Avatar, with Hoshido and Nohr described as "mythical kingdoms."* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', though there are a few recurring characters. The fact that all the games take place in different Netherworlds helps. ''[[VisualNovel/DisgaeaInfinite Infinite]]'' messes some stuff up, but most fans agree that Mao and Beryl's appearances are before ''[[VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice D3]]'' even though the canon best ending of ''Infinite'' doesn't match up with why Etna was in ''[[VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories D2]]''.

[[AC:Non-video Game Examples]]* ''Literature/ChaosFighters II'' has nothing to do with ''Chaos Fighters'' except for the magic and weaponry system.* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' was written with each story assumed to be the last (as admitted by the author) so as such several of the later ones answer questions rather then continuing the story. As such ''Literature/TheMagiciansNephew'' was written and published 6th but takes place first. ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'', which was first, is second. ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' was written fourth, published fifth, and set during a TimeSkip in ''[=LW&W=]''. With those three sorted out, however, the rest follow order of publication: ''Literature/PrinceCaspian'' (set centuries after ''[=LW&W=]''), ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', ''Literature/TheSilverChair'', and ''Literature/TheLastBattle''. It helps that time shifts in-universe because Narnia is a parallel world [[NarniaTime not perfectly synced with ours]].* ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' is a prequel to ''Film/TheMummyTrilogy'', the second film of which introduced the Scorpion King and showed his final fate. They then made ''The Scorpion King 2'', which was a prequel to the prequel. There are also plans for ''The Scorpion King 3'' which will be a sequel to the prequel of the prequel. There's also a video game of dubious canon that serves as a prequel to the prequel. Perhaps confusing things even more is that WordOfGod is that the Scorpion King featured in the prequel series ''is not'' the same Scorpion King featured in ''Film/TheMummyReturns'', but rather his IdenticalGrandfather. While this makes sense given their wildly different characterizations (the prequel Scorpion being far more heroic), it's never actually established in series.* The "[[Film/RoadTo Road Pictures]]" of Creator/BobHope and Music/BingCrosby. Hope, Crosby and Dorothy Lamour play different characters with different names in each, and at least one is set in a wildly different time period, but they all have the same cast, the same style of madcap humor, and much the same formula. It is common for there to be references to their past adventures, albeit usually during one of the many instances of BreakingTheFourthWall.* ''Series/KamenRiderAgito'' explicitly takes place in the same universe as ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga''; the only on-screen references to this are a couple of off-hand mentions of the Grongi (Kuuga's enemies) and the G3 suit being built by the police based off of data taken on "Unidentified Lifeform #4" (the Tokyo Police's callname for Kuuga). There was also said to be a GreatOffscreenWar where the Grongi were killed off by the Lords, Agito's enemies.** This all gets referenced in ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', where the AlternateUniverse Agito World they visit is also an alternate Kuuga World, with the GreatOffscreenWar actively happening and an alternate version of Decade!Kuuga's CoolBigSis mentor showing up as the head scientist behind the G3 Project.** ''Franchise/KamenRider'' is thought to do this because of how SupermanStaysOutOfGotham was law for the first ten years of its revival, to the degree that aside from the occasional mention of "#4" in ''Agito'' (in ''Kuuga,'' "Unidentified Lifeform #4" was the mundane authorities' name for Kuuga, as they didn't know him from the monstrous Grongi) there was no sign in any series that any of the others had ever taken place; the incoming season seems to replace the outgoing one rather than follow it, with no sign that monsters and Riders ever were a thing. Then ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'' comes along and presents {{Alternate Universe}}s based on its predecessors (all but ''Den-O'' being different from the original series and ''very'' clearly not the worlds of the originals) and this somehow led to the assumption that the true series were also parallel universes (everything pre-revival going into one, ''Kuuga'' and ''Agito'' going into another, and everything from ''Ryuki'' through ''Kiva'' each having its own). However, with and after ''Decade'', we enter an age of {{Massively Multiplayer Crossover}}s, smaller {{Reunion Show}}s, and future ''Rider'' characters and concepts debuting in the final episodes of the outgoing series. This has led to EpilepticTrees such as "Each series really is its own universe, but there's also a ''Summer Movie'' dimension and a ''Movie Wars'' film dimension and an ''All Riders'' film dimension!" You laugh, but stuff like this is taken as canon by ''many'', and ''much'' discussion goes to explaining what fits where dimensionally. You're back to square one when a power-up from a ''Movie Wars'' film shows up in the series!* ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'' film series is {{bookend|s}}ed by the original movie and ''Tokyo Drift'' (the third installment). The second movie (''2 Fast 2 Furious'') is a direct sequel to the first and the fourth (''Fast & Furious''), fifth (''Fast Five'') and sixth (''Fast & Furious 6'') follow that one [[spoiler:and the post-credit scene of ''Fast & Furious 6'' sets things up for the plotline of the eventual seventh film to potentially begin during ''Tokyo Drift'' and carry on from there]]. ----